The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the biggest nights in the global entertainment scene, as it brings together the best of Europe’s voices in a competition for top spot. Every year this competition draws in millions of viewers who eagerly await the showcase and masterpiece of the night and wonder which nation would come out victorious. With nations beginning the whole preparation process almost immediately after a previous grand finale, the wait is usually almost worth it.
With the sixty-ninth edition of the Eurovision Song Contest just around the corner, fans are excited and filled with lots of questions. Some are asking, when is the Eurovision grand final going to start? Who are the top favourites to bet on? How can they vote? To answer this, we will need to call on Kate Richardson our guest post writer to give us some insight on what to expect with Eurovision 2025.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will take place in Basel. But when will it start
With this year’s competition slated for May 2025, the question a lot still asks is: when will it start? As usual, the competition is a three-day affair and as such it will begin with the semifinals set on the 13th and 15th of May respectively.
However, the grand finale of the Eurovision song contest kicks off on Saturday, 17 May 2025 at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland which has been transformed into an arena for the ages.
According to the president of the government of the canton Basel-Stadt, Conradin Cramer, he said: “We are the most host-friendly city you can imagine”. This is usually when all the glitz and glamour is put on stage with millions of people staring at their screens in excitement and anticipation.
What time will Eurovision 2025 start?
With the date for the event set in stone, more fans and viewers are wondering when the event will begin. This gives them time to adequately prepare themselves for the show and ensure they don’t miss out on all the fun. Well, according to the organisers, the timetable for the event are as follows.
Semi-Finals
The semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest is the first step to glory for the nations competing. This stage is where they will show their mettle and prove to the audience that they have what it takes to win. With the semifinals split into two days, viewers who want to tune in to their country’s EBC partner would have to do so by exactly 21:00 CEST on both days.
Grand Finals
The grand finale of the event which is set for 17 May 2025 would feature 26 teams—the host, the big five countries and the 10 winners who qualify from the two semi-finals. This night is when the showdown will take place, and as such the organisers have set a comfortable time—21:00 CEST. For UK viewers, they can watch the Eurovision song contest broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday at 8pm local time.
Who will represent the UK at Eurovision 2025?
For the Eurovision 2025, the United Kingdom—one of the big five’s— will be coming in hot this year with their contestant. In a bid to bring the heat, the UK would be represented by pop group Remember Monday—Lauren Byrne, Charlotte Steele and Holly-Anne Hull.
This group, selected by BBC One on March 7, 2025, will be hoping to help the UK win their first Eurovision competition in 28 years. They would also be hitting the stage with their entry, “What the Hell Just Happened”.
According to Remember Monday, they said: “‘What The Hell Just Happened’ is exactly how we’re feeling right now! It’s all very surreal….we definitely never imagined that we’d be doing anything like this”.
What is the voting procedure for Eurovision?
One of the most intriguing aspects of Eurovision is mostly around how the show’s winners are decided. For years, the organiser has used a dual voting system that uses both the jury and the public televote in making the final decision. In putting together a jury, every participating nation appoints 5 music professionals whose job is to award points on their favourite songs through the event.
Once this is collated, then the viewers also get to make a vote for any participating country—apart from theirs— through text, phone or by using the Eurovision app. These votes—jury are viewers— are what is combined in equal parts to decide the winner of the competition.
Who are the Favourites?
This year’s Eurovision is set to be quite competitive as we have more countries who look like they intend to end the event as winners. At the top of this list is Sweden who have shown over the years that they are a worthy opponent. They are coming into this year’s event with their representative, KAJ and their entry, Bara bada bastu.
Another strong contender this year is Austria who will be showing off their song, Wasted Love by JJ. As it stands, we should also be wary of the strength of France and Israel’s competitors Louane and Yucal Raphael. Last year’s winner, Switzerland are also another favourite to watch out for with Zoe Me. With these competitors in line, the competition is stiffer and much more exciting than ever.
Betting odds
As the excitement increases in anticipation for the semifinal and grand final of the Eurovision, German betting companies have provided an opportunity for punters to make money. Mightytips.com reviewed the best German options and their odds for various events.
We are sure that among these sites there are also options with betting on the music contest. However, if you want to make your pick based on your own personal preferences, here are some of the best odds for favourite nation to win:
- Sweden – 3/1 (25% chance)
- Austria – 7/2 (22.2% chance)
- Israel – 6/1 (16.7% chance)
- France – 7/1 (14.3% chance)
- Netherlands – 14/1 (6.7% chance)
- Germany – 33/1 (2.9% chance)
- Finland – 18/1 (5.3% chance)
The biggest hits of the contest
In anticipation of the Eurovision 2025, we are expecting different renditions of top hits. Now that we have a comprehensive list of the songs to expect from participants, we can categorically mention a few that would get the crowd rolling.
We can expect Estonia’s Tommy Cash to turn heads with his anthem, Macchiato which has already gone viral. Bara Bada Bastu by KAJ has also rocked TikTok and Instagram with its catchy lines. We can’t also forget to mention JJ’s Wasted Love which is currently a banger.
The article was provided by Kate Richardson